All packed up and ready to go we got picked up by a taxi that drove us all across Wellington to the pier of Interislander.
We checked in our luggage just as in an airport and got a coffee while we waited to board the ship.
It wasn't long until we were told we could go on board now and together with a couple of other people we boarded the ship and found a nice corner next to a window.
We still had some snacks leftover that we didn't want to carry with us any more, so they became second breakfast.
When we set sail to leave Wellington Harbour we took turns on going up to the deck to enjoy the views of the bay and the mountains surrounding the Kiwi Capital until we passed around the harbour entrance and were well into the cook straight. All this with wonderful weather.
First contact with the South Island should be giving us an idea of what awaited us here. We had to pass through Marlborough Sounds to get to the Harbour town of Picton where were were going to dock.
It was truly magical (this is as much of adjective I can find for this) to ride through the calm waters in the relatively narrow fjord with green, lush, steep hills on either side.
It was as it we took a cruise specifically to enjoy this scenery but we were only trying to get to the other Island. It became even better when the captain announce that he spotted a pod of dolphins on port side. Everyone who know were port was ran over and tried to get a good look.
And indeed there was a group of silver blue dolphins swimming and jumping happily next to the boat until we passed them and turned the corner into the little Picton Bay.
By now my new Camera from Thailand had temporarily given up the ghost. It had a "focus error" on the display every time I turned it on.
Luckily some research showed that this was "only" dirt or sand within the housing, so a bit of shaking upside down fixed the issue.
From the Pier we walked jsut about a kilometre to our very nice Motel and relaxed for a bit.
Then we were out for a late lunch which we found down at the waterfront at a nice little restaurant.
Unfortunately, the restaurant looked nicer than it was and the pasta Mom and I ordered was not even average. I could have done nicer pasta with a few tomatoes and onion and garlic. And it wouldn't have costed 25 $ or so.
To brighten up our moods we walked around the yacht harbour, across a foot bridge to check out the many yachts and sailing boats. In the unbelievably clear waters under the bridge we spotted a big ray swimming into the harbour.
Back at the Motel I informed my parents of the wish to learn Skat (a crazily complex card game that Karsten also had tried to explain). I didn't understand it much better yet and am not sure if I really want to? Maybe during the next long break with my parents.
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